Recent BarsRecently Created Barshttp://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars
BTU Brasserie<p class="p1">Spice things up with this chic, unique, Chinese restaurant/brewery hybrid. From piquant dan dan noodles to crave-worthy Cantonese-style pork, the Asian chow&rsquo;s delicious at his&nbsp;Rose City Park neighborhood&nbsp;upstart and the house beers&mdash;especially the lagers&mdash;hit the spot.&nbsp;Light lagers are surprisingly tricky to make (well), but the BTU Lager, brewed with Chinese short-grain rice, is clean and subtle.</p>Thu, 08 Jan 2015 15:44:00 -0800http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/btu-brasserie
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/btu-brasseriePepe Le Moko<p class="p1">In this windowless underground bunker, time is erased as bartender supreme Morgenthaler (away from his usual post behind the bar at Clyde Common, located upstairs) lovingly stirs drinks we secretly desire, in near-pitch darkness. Schlocky cocktail pariahs rise again with newfound glory: espresso martinis croon velvety odes to Stumptown cold extract and Kahl&uacute;a; amaretto sours luxuriate under towering piles of ice cubes and sticky-wonderful brandied cherries. Rather than lofty infusions or fussy tinctures, Morgenthaler makes thoughtful tweaks to these long-scorned treats.&nbsp;Everything you want in your bomb shelter can be found here: succulent bivalves, happy xylophone music, nooks adorned with mini burlesque triptychs, and bygone cocktails to die for.&nbsp;</p>Thu, 30 Oct 2014 16:09:00 -0700http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/pepe-le-moko-october-2014
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/pepe-le-moko-october-2014Angel Face<p class="p1">Navarre&rsquo;s sister bar, a jewel box of a space dominated by conversation-starting pink, flowered walls, charms with French plates and artful cocktails. Portions are small, but the homey-yet-polished flavors are huge, like a stew-y French onion soup hiding gobs of gruy&egrave;re, or a poached egg swimming in an impossibly silky, tart broth of red wine and onion. The steak tartare is an immediate hit, which you can (and should) accessorize with raw, chopped oysters to give a seaside tang to an already luxurious schmear. Thoughtful details (from the house-made crackers on the fish board to the diamonds the bartenders stenciled on the bathroom&rsquo;s tile floor) are worth the prices.</p>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 15:14:00 -0700http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/angel-face
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/angel-faceMi Mero Mole Chinatown<p class="p1">At the new Chinatown location of this <em>guisado</em>-fueled cantina, the stalwart stew is still unrivaled. Our favorite, borrego ahumado en mole negro (smoked lamb in black mole) features whole lamb shoulder, oak-smoked for 12 hours before getting soused in a sweet, nutty sauce of roasted chile, Mexican chocolate, and plantains. Bartender and co-owner Pablo Portilla dreamed up the perfect taco companion by fusing the creamy texture of a pi&ntilde;a colada with a caipirinha. His fruity umbrella-drink version of Brazil&rsquo;s national cocktail blends pineapple juice, cachaca (a sugarcane spirit), avocado, and mint for a velvety, refreshing finish.&nbsp;</p>Thu, 09 Oct 2014 16:37:00 -0700http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/mi-mero-mole-chinatown
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/mi-mero-mole-chinatownUno Mas West<p class="p1">Oswaldo Bibiano already has a reputation for Mexican brunch at his higher-end spots, Autentica and Mextiza. Now, at the new west-side satellite of his addictive <a href="http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/restaurants/uno-mas-taquiza">Uno Mas taqueria</a>, Bibiano is crafting the best breakfast tacos in the city. The <em>chile capeado</em>is hard to beat: shredded pork, cooked with chipotle and guajillo peppers, stuffed into an egg-battered jalape&ntilde;o, deep-fried, and drizzled with crema. Meanwhile, the bar sp<span style="font-size: 15px;">ins on a classic Bloody Mary with the Bloody Maria, mixing a fiery house tequila infused with orange, mango, habanero, and cilantro, with a super-spicy bloody mix&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px;">that marries hot salsa with beer and Clamato.</span></p>Thu, 09 Oct 2014 14:44:00 -0700http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/uno-mas-west
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/uno-mas-westStammtisch<p class="p1">This beer hall from the folks behind North Portland&rsquo;s Prost, lures <em>bierstube</em> enthusiasts deeper into the world of Germanic brews while raising the bar for the country&rsquo;s comforting cuisine. <span class="s1">Stammtisch&rsquo;s airy space and </span><span class="s2">sidewalk beer </span><span class="s1">garden boasts an </span>impressive, rotating 18-tap beer list that ranges from a rare, malty maibock to a smoked helles lager&mdash;the kind of craft beers one might only find in tiny towns in Bavaria&mdash;while the full-length menu flaunts classic schnitzels and a Bavarian pretzel, along with less common maultaschen (big Germanic rolled pasta) and obatzda (a paprika-spiced Camembert cheese spread). You will devour the addictively smoky roasted chicken with thick-sliced, fat-soaked potatoes.</p>Thu, 09 Oct 2014 14:24:00 -0700http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/stammtisch
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/stammtischMåurice<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Kristen Murray curates every molecule of flavor at her strange and delightful </span>French-Scandinavian &ldquo;pastry luncheonette,&rdquo;<span class="s1"> where the experience veers from twee to revelatory, varying by the day, the plate, and your mood. You&rsquo;ll meet both Murray&rsquo;s sweet-craft and her nana&rsquo;s lefse; bitter salads; a vermouth happy hour; and evening &ldquo;dessert cuisine.&rdquo; One visit lands you her &ldquo;chocolate box&rdquo;&mdash;black sesame seed cake, banana mousse, and chocolate mousse housed in glossy chocolate walls&mdash;so stunning it belongs in the window at Barneys. Another pit stop yields an otherworldly French toast, a thick slice of brioche coated with walnut paste and juicy poached fruit. It&rsquo;s a gutsy spot&mdash;580 square feet of technical skill, refined palate, and tunnel-vision fervor.&nbsp;</span></p>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 16:08:00 -0700http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/maurice
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/mauriceNonna<p>Imagine an Italian grandmother lovingly plumping meatballs, humming a tune from the old country. Now plant her in a dark cocktail bar. That&rsquo;s Nonna, a new tavern from the crew at intimate kitchen DOC that mashes up New York&ndash;style Italian food (gravy, not tomato sauce) with Portland&rsquo;s mixology scene. As with many local bars, the real focus at Nonna is the food: hand-cut pasta, deep-fried arancini, and deliciously unfussy vegetables. Crispy brussels sprouts in a tangy, lemon citrus&ndash;steeped cream, are a steal at $6. The linguini list, rolled fresh and sauced four ways, is worth exploration, especially the squid and olive variety, with its intensely garlicky, spice-flecked sauce and tender rings of&nbsp;calamari. Top marks go to the manicotti: three pasta scrolls stuffed with ricotta and sun-dried tomatoes, browned until bubbly on the outside, and topped with deeply flavored tomato sauce. If only&nbsp;<em>your</em>&nbsp;nonna made it this good.</p>Wed, 26 Mar 2014 11:00:00 -0700http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/nonna
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/nonnaDouble Dragon<p><strong><em>SE Division Street&rsquo;s</em></strong><span>&nbsp;gleefully inauthentic banh mi joint always felt like something more than a plain old restaurant, with its spicy, in-your-face eats and snarky chalkboard menu. So when Double Dragon transformed into a bona fide bar last fall, complete with the requisite bitters and tinctures lining its poured-concrete bar and a list of classic and curious cocktails, it felt like a raucous homecoming. These days, the glass-fronted cube is crammed with happy 20- and 30-somethings scarfing Kobe kimchi dogs and slurping stiff drinks spiked with five-spice and Thai tea syrup beneath dim lights studded with spent Sriracha bottles. The spot reaches its oddball zenith every Saturday night. That&rsquo;s when Baby Ketten Karaoke stretches a white sheet across one of the bar&rsquo;s front windows to project song lyrics, tempting flannel-clad boys to belt out Nine Inch Nails&rsquo; &ldquo;Head Like a Hole&rdquo; mashed up with Carly Rae Jepsen&rsquo;s &ldquo;Call Me Maybe.&rdquo; Smokers bundled up to their eyeballs perch on picnic tables just outside the door, watching the wildly gesticulating singers through the glass as if they were the cast of some long-lost&nbsp;</span><em>Godzilla</em><span>&nbsp;movie musical.</span></p>
<p>We featured Double Dragon in our <a href="http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars-and-nightlife/articles/portlands-best-bars-february-2014/1" target="_blank">feature on Portland's best bars for 2014.</a></p>Tue, 11 Feb 2014 15:02:00 -0800http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/double-dragon-february-2014
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/double-dragon-february-2014Tilt<p><span class="s5"><strong><em>Swan Island&rsquo;s&nbsp;</em></strong></span><span>beloved burgers and (Oregon) beers spot, which constructed its second location in the Pearl&rsquo;s old General Electric distribution plant last December, is as American as apple pie. Or, rather, a sweetly tart &ldquo;Pie Break&rdquo; cocktail, which tops applejack, lemon, and a dollop of Portland&rsquo;s own Don&rsquo;s Spices #2 syrup with frothy egg whites. Upgraded Americana is a calling card at the new Tilt, which charms all comers with juicy, salty burgers oozing with American cheese and gut-busting toppings as well as flaky house biscuits. The space is devoutly industrial; a concrete and metal bunker where a giant, monochromatic American flag serves as d&eacute;cor and shop rags double as napkins. Order at the counter (behind the hulking drill press) and head to the gregarious bar side of the operation, where no-nonsense classics and house concoctions from bar whiz Nick Keane as well as nearly 100 whiskeys keep you lubricated until the genuinely great pub grub arrives. The echoing space, filled with generations-spanning clusters of coworkers, sports watchers, and mellow friends, is so roomy you may not spot the Ping-Pong table or the fireplace in back until your second drink. And you will get a second drink. And then maybe a slice of pie. They bake that in house, too, of course.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>We included Tilt in our feature on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars-and-nightlife/articles/portlands-best-bars-february-2014/1" target="_blank">Portland's best bars for 2014.</a></span></p>Tue, 11 Feb 2014 14:24:00 -0800http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/tilt-february-2014
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/bars/tilt-february-2014